KEM turns 90

90 years of service: From a modest twostorey structure, KEM is a massive complex with three buildings where 6,500 poor patients seek care and comfort every day.

King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Parel will mark 90 years of service to the city’s poor residents on Friday, a relentless journey that began from a modestly equipped two-storey building with only 150 beds.

Today, KEM, attached to Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College, is a massive complex of three buildings where around 6,500 poor patients seek free care — and some comfort away from their struggles — every day.

The hospital, one of the first major medical facilities to be set up in the country, has racked up several milestones over the years: it hosted the first heart and liver transplants in India, and welcomed to the world the first test-tube baby.

While KEM faces severe challenges over resources, it has been fortunate to have been served by a long line of loyal doctors and other staff members.

Dr Rajaninath Satoskar (86) and his wife Dr Shashiprabha (81) taught at the college and treated patients for 40 years. Their two doctor sons, Rajeev and Abhay, now work at KEM. Rajeev’s wife, Purnima, is a professor in the gynaecology department, and their 25-year-old daughter, Savni, recently completed her MBBS from the institution.

“I joined KEM in 1946 and worked there for 40 years before retiring as the head of pharmacology,” Dr Rajaninath said. “I met the love of life, Shashiprabha, on the campus. We got married in 1955. I am really happy that our children are part of the same institution.”

Dr Rajaninath pursued a PhD in pharmacology and studied nuclear medicine in England. “I got many job offers abroad, but I decided to work at KEM.”

Dr Shashiprabha retired as the deputy dean. “Even though the salary was low, my husband and I decided to work at KEM and help the poor,” she said.

The new KEM complex came up during her tenure as the deputy dean. “KEM was the first hospital in the country to have an outpatient department in the main building.”

The medical college was started in 1925, whereas the hospital began operations on January 22, 1926. The then Bombay governor, Sir Leslie Wilson, inaugurated the hospital building designed by Scottish architect George Wittet, the name behind iconic city landmarks such as the Gateway of India and the Prince of Wales Museum.

The fund-raising for the college and the hospital began in 1909. Citizens donated a total of Rs 5.52 lakh and the estate of Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas gave Rs 12 lakh.

Dr Jivaraj Mehta, who had studied in London, was appointed as KEM’s first dean. At the time, the hospital had only 150 beds compared to modern-day KEM’s 2,200.

Dr KK Datey opened a cardiology department in 1964, and around the same time, renowned heart surgeon Dr PK Sen started cardiac surgery. In 1968, he performed the first heart transplant in the country at KEM.

Dr Malini Nadkarni, 72, a former head of the radiology department, recounted the excitement on the premises for the procedure. “I was a resident a doctor then. There was a viewing gallery for doctors to witness the country’s first heart transplant,” she said.

Today, KEM has 45 medical departments, including super-specialty divisions. Many facilities have been added and upgraded in the past 10 years.

“We have significantly upgraded our facilities and some of the latest medical equipment,” said Dr Nitin Dange, an associate professor with the neurosurgery department.

Current dean Dr Avinsh Supe said in a year, the hospital conducts 70,000 surgeries and attends to nearly 18.5 lakh patients.

“We get patients from not only Mumbai and Maharashtra, but from across the country,” he said.

(See pics)

1. The medical college was started in 1925, whereas the hospital began operations on January 22, 1926